Artist: In Solitude
Country: Sweden
Label: Swedish Metal Productions
Formats: 7″ EP
Year: 2008
Once in a while there are some new bands that sound so much like those old metal LP’s you might/should have that it is almost hard to believe these bands are actually new and the songs are freshly recorded. Enforcer and Portrait are good examples of those bands, now we can easily add (also Swedish) In Solitude to that somewhat elitist list of amazing newcomer heavy metal bands.
In Solitude plays a very refreshing and jaw-dropping mixture of the NWOBHM-style and Mercyful Fate/King Diamond-esque epic heavy metal. Both musically and vocally these Swedish guys sound much alike Mercyful Fate, including the high pitched vocals and the catchiness of the songs. Together with the, almost, poppy-kind of melodies, the amazing solo’s and the heavy riffs this sounds very much authentic. Truly, it is hard to believe that these two songs on this 7” are only recently recorded. It is therefore not really a surprise that the highly acclaimed Keep It True festival contracted them for one of their future festivals and that High Roller Records (known for their works with Darkness (GER), Manilla Road, Metalucifer, Portrait and Stygian Shore (to name a few) signed them for future releases.
In Solitude are definitely one of the most promising bands I heard so far this year. Yet, it must be said that Swedish Metal Productions (or SMP, if you will) didn’t do much of a good job. The 7” EP looks rather cheap, without inner sleeve (that might cause your vinyl to be scratched) and the lack of any information or inlay. These songs surely deserved a treatment á la Hells Headbangers, Iron Kodex, Nuclear War Now! Productions, Blood Harvest and the likes. But, despite the cheap packaging, the artwork is as great as the music, so it still gives the eye a piece of the music as well.
